pubs.acs.

org/NanoLett Letter

In Situ Deposition of Skin-Adhesive Liquid Metal Particles with

Robust Wear Resistance for Epidermal Electronics
Li Ding,∥ Chen Hang,∥ Shuaijian Yang, Jie Qi, Ruihua Dong, Yan Zhang,* Hansong Sun,*
and Xingyu Jiang*
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ABSTRACT: Comfort and mechanical stability are vital for

epidermal electronics in daily use. In situ deposition of circuitry
Downloaded via JEONBUK NATL UNIV on July 13, 2022 at 05:32:47 (UTC).

without the protection of substrates or encapsulation can produce

imperceptible, conformal, and permeable epidermal electronics.
However, they are easily destroyed by daily wear because the
binding force between deposited materials and skin is usually weak.
Here, we in situ deposited skin-adhesive liquid metal particles
(ALMP) to fabricate epidermal electronics with robust wear
resistance. It represents the most wear-resistant in situ deposited
epidermal electronic materials. It can withstand ∼1600 cm, 175 g
loaded paper tape wearing by a standard abrasion wear tester.
Stretchability, conformality, permeability, and thinness of the
ALMP coating provide an imperceptible and comfortable wearing
experience. Without degradation of electrical property caused by solvent evaporation, the dry ALMP coating possesses natural
advantages over gel electrodes. In situ deposited ALMP is an ideal material for fabricating comfortable epidermal electronics.
KEYWORDS: Epidermal electronics, Permeable electronics, Liquid metal, Electrophysiology

C omfort and mechanical stability are important for

epidermal electronics in daily use. Most epidermal
electronics are fabricated on the substrates or protected with
encapsulation during use.1−9 The substrates and encapsulation
are also used to provide adhesion to the skin. The substrates and
encapsulation on the skin are usually not comfortable enough
due to impermeability and sensory interference, and they cannot
fit the microfeatures of the skin perfectly. In situ deposition of
conductive materials can produce imperceptible epidermal
electronics.10−13 However, in situ deposited electronics can be
easily destroyed by daily use. Thus, giving deposited materials
skin adhesion is the solution to enhance the mechanical stability
of the in situ deposited epidermal electronics.
Liquid metal (LM) is a promising material for fabricating
stretchable electronics.14−16 We have reported thin-film
electronics based on liquid metal particles (LMP) be-
fore.5−7,17−21 However, these film-based electronics are not
comfortable enough. Direct deposition of LM for epidermal
electronics was reported before,22 but the LM is not intrinsically
adhesive to the skin. Thus, the pattern of LM on the skin can be
easily destroyed. Here, we developed ALMP in a universal
method and deposited it on the skin in situ, forming an
imperceptible, robustly wear-resistant, conformal, and perme-
able epidermal coating. The adhesion makes ALMP mechan-
ically stable. It is wear-resistant enough to withstand ∼1600 cm,
175 g loaded paper tape wearing, which is ∼500 times better
than the best in situ deposited epidermal electronics.10,23 As an
epidermal electrophysiological electrode, the ALMP has the best
skin contact impedance compared with the film-based epidermal
electrodes and the adhesive-based electrodes.10,13,24,25 It is
comparable with the best reported dry electrodes.26 Out-
standing biocompatibility, permeability, and imperceptibility of
the ALMP are beneficial to long-term use on the skin.
The oxide layer of the LMP (EGaIn) tends to form hydrogen
bonds with hydroxyl-group-rich polymers, which was used for
the patterning of LM27−29 (Figure S1, Movie S1). LM with
hydroxyl-groups-rich polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been used to
fabricate bulk electronics without skin adhesion and con-
formality.30,31 For fabricating in situ deposited epidermal
electronics with skin adhesion, we, through sonication, modified
hydroxyl-rich polymers onto the surface of the LMP to form
ALMP. The method was illustrated in Supporting Information
(Figure S2A). Energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and
transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed the polymer
layer modified on the surface of the LMP (Figure 1A, Figure S3).
Received: March 29, 2022
Revised: May 14, 2022
Published: May 17, 2022

© 2022 American Chemical Society https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01270

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Figure 1. Wear resistance of ALMP. (A) EDS image of a single ALMP. Element carbon reveals the existence of the polymer on the surface of ALMP.
(B) Structure of the ALMP. (C) The SEM images demonstrate the process of stretching and restoring the ALMP. (D) Lighting the LED with the
epidermal ALMP electrodes. (E) Mechanical stability of ALMP compared with the LM droplet and the pure LMP. (F) XPS of Ga 3d of the ALMP and
the LMP. (G) RCA abrasion wear tester and the SEM pictures of ALMP on the different wearing spots. (H) i−t curve of ALMP during wearing and the
SEM picture of ALMP after different wear times. Red areas are cracks. (I) curve of electric resistance vs wear time. (J) Wear time and conductivity of
ALMP coating made of different concentrations of PVA. (K) Relationship between coating thickness and wear time.

The oxygen of the oxide layer forms hydrogen bonds with the process of deposition, the ALMP adhered to the skin by
hydroxyls on the chain of the polymer (Figure 1B). With the interactions between the PVA layer and the keratin of the
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Figure 2. Stretchability, micropatterning, and biocompatibility of ALMP. (A) Variation of electrical resistance in the range of 0% strain to 800% strain.
(B) Variation of electrical resistance of ALMP in different strains. (C) Cyclic stretch of ALMP. (D) Electrical resistances corresponding to the different
bending angles. (E) Cyclic bending of ALMP strain sensor. (F) Micropatterned ALMP on skin. (G) Wear-resistance of the micropatterned ALMP.
(H) The micropatterned ALMP adapts to the deformation of the skin. (I) SEM picture of the micropatterned ALMP on the skin replica. (J) Live/dead
staining of the cell cultured on the sweat-soaked ALMP coating. Calcein indicates live cell. PI indicates dead cell. (K) The ALMP that has experienced
sweating did not cause skin irritation after 48 h of wearing.

epidermis32,33 (Figure S2B). We observed the stretching process ALMP pulls each other through the hydrogen bonds and
of the ALMP by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The deforms with a stable connection (Figure 1C). On the contrary,
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Figure 3. Moisture permeability and sweat resistance. (A) Devices for mimicking the physiological process of sweating and insensible perspiration. The
water loss was recorded every hour. EF, electrospun film. (B) Water weight loss in the sweat model. (C) Water weight loss in the insensible perspiration
model. (D) Initial permeation time of the ALMP and the EF (ink droplet, 20 μL). The process between the start of the ink droplet contacting with the
ALMP and the ink being observed on the bottom filter paper is less than 1 s, whereas the process in EF needs around 5 s. (E) Schematic diagram of the
process where the water permeates through the ALMP and spreads in the filter paper. (F) Relationship between the water-spreading area and the time
in the ALMP and the EF. The intersection between the ALMP and the EF means the water spread to an equal area in equal time. (G) Ratio between the
permeation time and spread time in the ALMP and the EF. (H) The ALMP keeps its excellent adhesion and conformality after sweating, whereas the
Tegaderm lost its best adhesion. (I) The wetted ALMP can dry on the skin. (J) Variation of electrical resistance of ALMP after immersing the ALMP in
artificial sweat.

the pure LMPs cannot be conductive with stretch as there is no
adhesion between the LMPs to conduct tensile force (Figure
S4). We used patterned epidermal ALMP electrodes to lighten
the light-emitting diode (LED) (Figure 1D). The adhesion
provides the ALMP with strong mechanical stability. The
epidermal patterns made of the LM droplet and made of the
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LMP are easily destroyed by fingers. In contrast, the patterns
made of the ALMP are so wear-resistant that they cannot be
destroyed by repeated rubbing (Figure 1E, Movie S2). Besides,
they can withstand more than 200 N vertical pressure (Figure
S5). The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
reveal the protection of PVA for the ALMP. The binding energy
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of Ga0 in the ALMP is higher than that in the pure LMP, which
means the PVA layer might protect Ga from the reaction with
the solvent (water) (Figure 1F). These results suggest the tight
interaction between the PVA layer and the oxide layer in the
ALMP.
The skin adhesion of the ALMP provides epidermal ALMP
electrodes with robust mechanical stability. One of the most
important performances is wear resistance. We quantified the
capability of wear resistance of ALMP by RCA abrasion wear
tester, which is widely used as a standard in surface coating
industries. The machine works by putting running paper tape on
the testing materials and loading weight on the paper tape
(Figure 1G). The ALMP loses its granular surface topography
on the wearing spot, becoming a flat surface topography (Figure
1G). However, the change of surface topography does not affect
its conductivity much. The increasing cracks are the reason that
ALMP loses its conductivity. We observed the worn ALMP by
SEM. The number and width of cracks increase with the wear
time (Figure 1H). We drew the i−t curve of the ALMP when it
was withstanding wear of RCA abrasion by the wear tester. The
variation of electric current is related to the number and width of
cracks (Figure 1H). 5 wt % is the best concentration for PVA to
fabricate the ALMP, which is wear-resistant enough (∼1600 cm
paper tape wearing) and keeps the best patterning ability at the
same time (Figure 1I). The ALMP with a concentration greater
than 5 wt % PVA is too viscous to pattern with the airbrush, and
it will lower the conductivity of ALMP with the increase of PVA
(Figure 1J). Thicker ALMP coating is more wear-resistant
within a certain range (Figure 1K). However, too thick a coating
makes ALMP crowded together, losing satisfactory skin
adhesion. ∼10 μm coating can usually obtain satisfactory skin-
adhesion. We measured the thicknesses and the electrical
resistances of ALMP coatings with different spraying time. The
result was shown in Figure S6. 1000 times rubbing on the skin of
the joint does not affect its conductivity (Figure S7). The ALMP
can keep its shape after rubbing, washing, and drying
successively (Figure S8).
The ALMP reserves the strong stretchability of LM. It can be
stretched to 800% strain with a small electrical resistance
variation (Figure 2A, Movie S3). Corresponding to different
strains, the ALMP has stable electrical resistance variations,
allowing ALMP to be strain sensors (Figure 2B,C and Figure
S9). We patterned the ALMP into a strain sensor on the skin of
the finger joint. It can sense the deformation of skin precisely.
The different electrical resistances of the ALMP correspond to
the different bending angles of the finger joint (Figure 2D). Fast
and cyclic bending does not result in failure (Figure 2E). ALMP
is easily patterned on the skin with the airbrush and patterning
mask. The ALMP can be patterned into ∼80 μm wide electrode
arrays on the skin, representing the highest resolution of in situ
deposited epidermal electrodes (Figure 2F). The ALMP will not
lose skin adhesion and wear resistance when decreasing the size.
The micropatterned ALMP electrodes are still wear-resistant
(Figure 2G). It can adapt to different deformations of the skin,
such as compressing, stretching, and twisting, and keeps its
adhesion and conformality (Figure 2H). The ALMP coating can
cross the valleys and ridges of the skin while keeping conformal
contact with the skin (Figure 2I).
The ALMP is biocompatible. We evaluated the cytocompat-
ibility of the original ALMP ink and the ALMP coating with
sweat corroded. The ALMP inks with different concentrations
did not lower the cell proliferation and migration compared with
the control (P > 0.05) (Figure S10A). The ALMP, soaked in the
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artificial sweat for an hour before, did not cause obvious cell
death after the cell was cultured on the ALMP coating for 72 h
(Figure 2J). The ALMP and the sweat-soaked ALMP caused no
skin irritation after long-time contact, whereas the standard gel
electrode and the copper electrode caused skin irritation (Figure
2K and Figure S10B).
The ALMP metallic coating is moisture-wicking on the skin
because of the hydrophilicity and high water permeability of the
PVA.34 We designed a device to mimic the physiological process
of water loss through the skin, including the sweat and insensible
perspiration models (Figure 3A). Physiological sweating is the
perceivable water secreted by the sweat glands, whereas
insensible perspiration is the tissue fluid directly evaporated
through the skin. We sprayed 20 μm thick ALMP on the high-
permeability paper on the roof of the device to quantify its
influence on water loss. For comparison, a thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU) EF, considered a breathable substrate for
stretchable electronics,15 with the same thickness, was put on the
roof of another device. The device with no cover was the control.
These devices were put in a 37 °C, 30% relative humidity
incubator simultaneously. The results show that the ALMP
coating did not hinder the physiological water evaporation in
both the sweat and insensible perspiration models. In contrast,
the EF hindered the water evaporation compared with the
control (Figure 3B,C). According to the insensible perspiration
model, we calculated the water vapor transmission rates
(WVTR) of the ALMP combined with the paper substrate,
whose value is 25.7 mg cm−2 h−1, whereas the value of the EF
combined with the paper substrate is 21.4 mg cm−2 h−1 and the
value of the bare paper substrate (control) is 24.3 mg cm−2 h−1.
We designed an experiment to evaluate the water permeability of
the ALMP. We sprayed a layer of the ALMP on the filter paper
and put an ink droplet on the ALMP. We captured the process of
ink spreading in the filter paper with a bottom camera.
According to our observation, the water permeation in this
design should be divided into two processes, including the initial
permeation and continuous permeation. The process between
the ink droplet contacting the surface and the ink being seen on
the bottom filter paper is the initial permeation (Figure 3D).
The process of ink continuously spreading on the filter paper is
the continuous permeation (Figure 3E). The rate of initial
permeation is related to not only the permeability but also the
wettability. The contact angle of the ALMP is less than that of
the EF in the side view picture (Figure 3D). The curve of the ink
spread area vs time demonstrates the two processes (Figure
3F,G). The initial permeation of the ALMP is extremely fast (<1
s), and its continuous permeation is slow and uniform. We
believe this behavior is beneficial to the water evaporation on the
surface of the material, as the behavior of the hydrophilic cotton
fabric, whereas the initial permeation of the EF is slow (∼5 s),
and its continuous permeation is fast and nonuniform. We
believe this flood-like continuous permeation will make water
gather into droplets and reduce the surface area of the water on
the surface of the material, thus lowering the rate of water
evaporation. We evaluated the sweat resistance of the ALMP
through the variation of adhesion and electrical resistance. The
ALMP can keep its adhesion and conformality after sweating,
while the commercial adhesive film (Tegaderm) lost its best
adhesion and conformality (Figure 3H). The wetted ALMP can
dry quickly on the skin (Figure 3I). Soaking the ALMP in the
artificial sweat, which is corrosive, does not result in any damage
or compromise of its electrical conductance (Figure 3J). Note
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Figure 4. Skin adhesion and ultraconformality result in a better electrophysiologic signal. (A) SEM picture of the ALMP on the skin replica. (B) SEM
picture of the film-based LM electrode on the skin replica. (C) SEM picture of the adhesive-based LM electrode on the skin replica. (D) SEM picture of
the face of ALMP coating contacting with the skin. The “valley” corresponds to the fold of the skin. The “pore” corresponds to the sweat-wicking pore
of the skin. The “scurf” on the ALMP shows the ALMP coating is tightly bound to the skin. (E) Skin contact impedances of three electrodes. (F) The
ECG waveform was captured with the ALMP. (G) The ECG waveform was captured with the film-based LM electrodes. The red arrow points to the
instantaneous baseline drifting. (H) The ECG waveform was captured with the adhesive-based LM electrodes. (I) Overlay multiple waveforms
detected with ALMP. (J) Overlay multiple waveforms detected with film-based LM. (K) Overlay multiple waveforms detected with adhesive-based
LM.

that there is no increase of electrical resistance. Instead there is a
decrease, which indicates an improved electrical conductance.
The ALMP is self-adhesive and ultraconformal to the skin,
which brings about ultralow skin contact impedance and high-
quality ECG. Skin adhesion and conformality of epidermal
electrodes affect the quality of electrophysiology directly. We
compared the ALMP with the film-based LM electrodes and the
adhesive-based LM electrodes, representing two common
stretchable metallic electrodes. The ALMP contacts the skin
conformally and directly (Figure 4A). The film-based LM
electrode cannot fit the tiny valleys of skin, though the Tegaderm
substrate is soft (Figure 4B). The gaps between the electrodes
and the skin increase the skin contact impedance. The adhesive-
based LM electrodes indirectly contact the skin, which increases
the skin contact impedance (Figure 4C). We observed the
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underside of the on-skin ALMP coating by SEM. It
demonstrated the conformality of the ALMP coating. The
texture of the underside of ALMP coating is identical to the skin
texture. The particles of the ALMP are flattened by gravity.
These results indicate the ALMP tightly contacts the skin
(Figure 4D). The skin contact impedance of the ALMP, film-
based LM electrode, and adhesive-based LM electrode was
measured under the same conditions for comparison. The skin
contact impedance of the ALMP is an order of magnitude lower
than that of other electrodes in the ECG frequency range (1−
100 Hz) (Figure 4E). We monitored the ECG with these three
electrodes. The ALMP captured the best-quality ECG wave-
forms, in which the baseline was stable and the noise was low
(Figure 4F). Especially, the U waves were clear in the ECG
waveforms captured with the ALMP. The ECG waveforms
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Figure 5. Comparison between the ALMP and the standard gel electrode. (A) Skin contact impedance of the ALMP and the gel electrodes at 0 h. (B)
Skin contact impedance of the ALMP and the gel electrodes after sweat. The dotted line is the standard line of the skin contact impedance at 0 h. (C)
Skin contact impedance of the ALMP and the gel electrodes at 27 h. (D) Comparison of ECG waveforms captured with the ALMP and the gel
electrodes at 0 and 24 h. (E) SNRs of the ECG were captured with the ALMP and the gel electrode at the 24th hour. (F) Mechanical stability of the
ALMP on real skin. (G) EMG signal of flexor carpi ulnaris captured with the ALMP.

captured with the film-based LM electrodes and the adhesive-
based LM electrodes have baseline drifting in different degrees
(Figure 4G,H). Besides, the U waves in their ECG waveforms
were absent. We overlaid the ECG waveforms to show the
stability of the signal detection. The waveforms captured by
ALMP are uniform, without obvious separation of waveforms
(Figure 4I). On the contrary, the waveforms captured by the
film-based LM and adhesive-based LM showed many obvious
divergences (Figure 4J,K).
The time stability of the ALMP is better than the gel
electrodes. The electrical property of the gel electrodes will
decrease with the evaporation of water, whereas the dry
electrodes, ALMP, avoids this issue. In the pristine condition,
the skin contact impedance of ALMP (3.3 × 104 to 1.6 × 104 Ω)
is almost indistinguishable from that of the standard gel
electrode (3.0 × 104 to 1.3 × 104 Ω) in the ECG frequency
range (Figure 5A). The skin contact impedance of ALMP will
decrease further after sweat (Figure 5B). That suggests the
ALMP is sweat-resistant, and the sweat benefits the ALMP for
electrophysiology monitoring. After 27 h of wearing, the ALMP
keeps its low skin contact impedance, while the skin contact
impedance of the gel electrode increases to 10.4 × 104 to 2.2 ×
104 Ω (Figure 5C). We compared the ECG waveforms captured
with the ALMP and the gel electrodes at 0 and 24 h. At 0 h, the
qualities of ECG waveforms are equally good between the
ALMP and the gel electrodes, which correspond to the results of
the skin contact impedances. After 24 h of wearing, the
waveforms captured with the ALMP change little, whereas that
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of the gel electrode lost its quality, in which many P waves are
buried in the noise (Figure 5D). We calculated the signal to
noise ratios (SNR) of the ECG waveforms captured with the
ALMP and that of the gel electrodes after wearing for 24 h. The
SNR of the ALMP is significantly higher than that of the gel
electrodes (Figure 5E). To show the mechanical stability of the
ALMP on the real skin, we monitored 30 s ECG with the ALMP
50 times. We repeatedly pressed the rigid electrodes onto the
ALMP for connection each time. There is not much difference
between the two waveforms captured at the first and 50th time
(Figure 5F). Besides, we sprayed the ALMP on the skin under
the clothes and wore it for 24 h to test its durability in daily life.
The ALMP stays on the skin firmly after 24 h wearing and keeps
functioning (Figure S11). Furthermore, we tried to capture the
electromyogram (EMG) with the ALMP. We captured the
flexion of the flexor carpi ulnaris successfully. The SNR of the
EMG is 23.34 dB (Figure 5G). The ALMP can be cleaned very
well by soap with scrubbing, whereas the commercial gel
electrode cannot be cleaned after long-time use (Figure S12,
Figure S13).
We developed an in situ deposited ALMP for fabricating
comfortable and mechanically stable epidermal electronics. The
robust wear resistance of the ALMP coating benefits its
durability in daily use. In addition, conformality, permeability,
stretchability, and thinness of the ALMP coating provide an
imperceptible and comfortable wearing experience. We
addressed the issue of the mechanical stability of in situ
deposited epidermal electronics. Its electrical property is
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excellent due to the essence of metal. As a demonstration, the
ALMP provides a straightforward, easy-to-fabricate solution for
the imperceptible on-skin strain sensor. In electrophysiology, its
low skin contact impedance is comparable to the standard gel
electrodes, which results in high-quality electrophysiological
signals. It can capture U waves, whose abnormality suggests
hypokalemia, stenosis, arrhythmia, and other severe heart
diseases.35−37 In conclusion, on the basis of its excellent
comfort, mechanical stability, and capability of electrophysiol-
ogy capturing, the comfortable, imperceptible, durable, suitable-
for-daily use epidermal electronics can be fabricated by the
ALMP, contributing to more continuous and accurate health
monitoring and disease diagnoses.
■
*
ASSOCIATED CONTENT
sı Supporting Information
The Supporting Information is available free of charge at
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01270.
Movie S1 showing liquid metal that was patterned on the
skin by PVA coating (MP4)
Movie S2 showing the ALMP is rubbed with finger
violently for a long time (MP4)
Movie S3 showing the ALMP stays conductive with
stretching until the substrate fractures (MP4)
Materials and methods on fabrication of the ALMP
coating, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), EDS,
SEM, XPS, abrasion wear test, calculation of conductivity
of the ALMP, wear-resistance comparison, measurement
of the thickness of the ALMP layer, skin replica, skin
irritation, cell scratch test, live/dead staining, sweat model
and insensible perspiration model, permeability evalua-
tion, electrical resistance variation of the ALMP after
immersion in artificial sweat, tests of stretchability, on-
skin strain sensor, fabrication of the film-based LM
electrode and the adhesive-based LM, skin contact
impedance, ECG recording, EMG recording; Figures
S1−S13 showing LM patterned on the skin by the PVA
coating, in situ deposition of ALMP, PVA layer covering
the oxide layer of the LMP, pure LMPs that are separated
from each other with stretching, a 0.6 mm ALMP
electrode that withstands the vertical pressure caused by
sharp metal, relationship between spraying time and
thickness and electrical resistance, 1000 times rubbing on
the skin of joint, the ALMP that keeps its state after
rubbing, washing, and drying successively, cyclic stretch-
ing of the ALMP, biocompatibility of the ALMP, the
ALMP that stays on the skin firmly after 24 h of wearing
and keeps functioning, the ALMP that can be cleaned very
well by soap, the ALMP that can be cleaned very well
(PDF)
■
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Authors
Yan Zhang − State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease,
Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases,
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union
Medical College, Beijing 100037, P. R. China;
Email: waikezhangyan@126.com
Hansong Sun − State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular
Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular
Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking
4489
Letter
Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, P. R. China;
Email: drsunhs@sina.com
Xingyu Jiang − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart Healthcare
Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong
518055, P. R. China; orcid.org/0000-0002-5008-4703;
Email: jiang@sustech.edu.cn
Authors
Li Ding − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart Healthcare
Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong
518055, P. R. China; State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular
Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular
Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking
Union Medical College, Beijing 100037, P. R. China;
orcid.org/0000-0003-0711-6906
Chen Hang − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart Healthcare
Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong
518055, P. R. China
Shuaijian Yang − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart
Healthcare Engineering, Department of Biomedical
Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology,
Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, P. R. China; School of
Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University
of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
Jie Qi − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart Healthcare
Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong
518055, P. R. China
Ruihua Dong − Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Smart Healthcare
Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong
518055, P. R. China
Complete contact information is available at:
https://pubs.acs.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01270
Author Contributions
∥
L.D. and C.H. contributed equally.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Key R&D Program of
China (Grants 2018YFA0902600 and 2017YFA0205901), the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants
21535001, 81730051, 21761142006, 51973045, and
82172099), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grants
QYZDJ-SSW-SLH039, 121D11KYSB20170026, and
XDA16020902), Shenzhen Bay Laboratory (Grant SZBL2019-
062801004), the Tencent Foundation through the XPLORER
PRIZE, Beijing Natural Science Foundation (Grant 7212082),
Postgraduate Innovation Foundation of Peking Union Medical
College (Grant 2019-1002-28), Teaching Reform Foundation
of Postgraduate Education in Peking Union Medical College
(Grant 10023201900202), and CAMS Innovation Fund for
Medical Sciences (Grant 2020-I2M-C&T-B-058).
Notes
The authors declare the following competing financial
interest(s): L.D. and X.J. declare a financial interest in the
form of a patent application.
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■
pubs.acs.org/NanoLett
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Jinhao Cheng for doing the supplementary experi-
ments. We thank Lixue Tang for the constructive suggestions.
We thank Yingting Chen for drawing the cartoon sketches. All
human experiments were conducted under approval from the
Medical Ethics Committee of the Southern University of
Science and Technology (Approval 2020SYG147).
■
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https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c01270
Nano Lett. 2022, 22, 4482−4490